Increasing reports of non-tuberculous mycobacteria in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 1995-2006

BMC Public Health

Research Article

L Peter Ormerod¹  Francis Drobniewski²  Jonathan E Moore³  Ibrahim Abubakar³  Michelle E Kruijshaar³ 

[1] Department of Chest Medicine, Royal Blackburn Hospital, Haslingden Road, BB2 3HH, Blackburn, Lancashire, UK;Health Protection Agency Centre for Infections, National Mycobacterium Reference Laboratory, Abernethy Building, Institute of Cell and Molecular Science (ICMS), 2 Newark Street, E1 2AT, London, UK;Health Protection Agency Centre for Infections, Respiratory Diseases Department - Tuberculosis Section, 61 Colindale Avenue, NW9 5EQ, London, UK;

关键词: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease;    Cystic Fibrosis;    Chronic Respiratory Illness;    Health Protection Agency;    Lymph Node Disease;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2458-10-612

 received in 2010-05-20, accepted in 2010-10-15,  发布年份 2010

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundNon-tuberculous mycobacteria have long been identified as capable of causing human disease and the number at risk, due to immune-suppression, is rising. Several reports have suggested incidence to be increasing, yet routine surveillance-based evidence is lacking. We investigated recent trends in, and the epidemiology of, non-tuberculous mycobacterial infections in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 1995-2006.MethodsHospital laboratories voluntarily report non-tuberculous mycobacterial infections to the Health Protection Agency Centre for Infections. Details reported include age and sex of the patient, species, specimen type and source laboratory. All reports were analysed.ResultsThe rate of non-tuberculous mycobacteria reports rose from 0.9 per 100,000 population in 1995 to 2.9 per 100,000 in 2006 (1608 reports). Increases were mainly in pulmonary specimens and people aged 60+ years. The most commonly reported species was Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare (43%); M. malmoense and M. kansasii were also commonly reported. M. gordonae showed the biggest increase over the study period rising from one report in 1995 to 153 in 2006. Clinical information was rarely reported.ConclusionsThe number and rate of reports increased considerably between 1995 and 2006, primarily in older age groups and pulmonary specimens. Increases in some species are likely to be artefacts but real changes in more pathogenic species, some of which will require clinical care, should not be excluded. Enhanced surveillance is needed to understand the true epidemiology of these infections and their impact on human health.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Moore et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2010